Solar Impulse
ISSUE
28
MONTHLY JOURNAL OF THE ATA
ELECTRIC VEHICLE INTEREST GROUPS
GEELONG & MELBOURNE
May-2011
Range_E
Solar The only way to fly!
The wings carry most of the
11,628 solar cells on board, but
even with more than 185 square
meters of photovoltaics, there's
not a great deal of energy
available to drive the four electric
motors.
Solar Impulse at a glance:
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Wingspan: 63.4 m (208 ft)
Length: 21.85 m (71.7 ft)
Height: 6.40 m (20.9 ft)
Weight: 1,600 Kg
Motor power: 4 x 10 HP
electric engines
Solar cells: 11,628 (10 748 on
the wing, 880 on the horizontal
stabilizer)
Average flying speed: 70 km/h
(43.5 mph)
Maximum altitude: 8 500 m
(27,900 ft)
HB-SIA
Developed by a team of 70 people over seven
years, HB-SIA is a very impressive feat of
engineering and, quite a lesson on just how
much you can achieve with only a small amount
of energy.
Solar Impulse is currently on standby for its first
international flight. Brussels has been chosen as
the destination for the first venture outside the
Swiss airport of Payerne, which follows the
solar powered aircraft's maiden flight and first
overnight flight last year and will mark another
important step towards the goal of flying around
the world in 2012. Keeping weight to a
minimum is critical and despite the aircraft's
huge 63 meter wingspan, its carbon fiber frame
and super light components weigh in at just
1600kg – which is a little like stretching your
family car to be the width of an Airbus A340.
EV – News Issue 28 - May 2011 - Compiled by K. Leach (03) 52250931
A full recharge from a standard
240 volt power supply can be
accomplished in around four
hours. It is designed for a new
generation of Toorak tractor
drivers who cover less than 40
kilometres a day and therefore the
EV range offered by this
technology will support the
majority of short urban journeys,
where
fuel
economy
and
emissions are of prime concern.
However, for longer journeys the
diesel hybrid drivetrain will
engage and continually optimise
CO2 emissions by the use of
regenerative braking and an
intelligent driving system that
selects the most appropriate,
efficient driving method.
Overall CO2 emissions are just
89g/km, yet Range_E has a
maximum power output of
250kW and a top speed of around
193kmh, while delivering a fuel
economy of 2.7l/100km (85mpg).
With this type of fuel efficiency
the hybrid system can do 1,100
kilometres on a tank of fuel.
Land Rover 4WD Hybrid
Geneva 2011 saw the first presentation of
Range_E. This development model is
equipped with a plug-in hybrid diesel-electric
powertrain that Land Rover expects to make
available in future models, following the
scheduled launch of its diesel-electric hybrid
in 2013.
Range_E is based on the Range Rover Sport
and uses the current 180kW 3.0-litre Turbo
Diesel V6 engine, working with an eightspeed automatic transmission and a 69kW
electric motor. This implementation provides
a parallel hybrid system, with a 14.2kW/h
lithium-ion battery that can be recharged
from a standard 240V power source.
Range_E can be driven on electric power
only for more than 32 kilometres, with zero
emissions.
Range_E comes with the same full 4WD
capability as the standard Range Rover
Sport, with a high and low range
transmission, front and rear differentials and
a mechanical locking centre differential. So
you could take it off road! (Does that really
happen to Range’s??)
SWIGZ Specs
SWIGZ.COM Electric Superbike
The Shape of Things to Come ??
MOTOR
Permanent Magnet, DC
Electric Motor
8,000 Shaft RPM
194 HP (145 kW)
295 Ft/Lbs (400 Nm)
Single Speed transmission
520 Racing Chain and
Sprockets final drive
Build Your Own
Speed Controller
BATTERY
Cylindrical LiFePO4
Lithium-Ion
360 Cells
384 Volts DC
11.5 KWh Plus KERS
High Tech Systems LLC –
Custom BMS
CONTROLLER
500 AMP, Liquid Cooled,
CAN Bus Controlled
The
SWIGZ.COM
Pro
Racing team has set a top
speed
record
for
an
electric
motorcycle
of
190.6 mph (305kmh) in
the April 10, Mojave Mile
Shootout www.mojavemile.com
Powered
by
a
UQM
Technologies, Inc. electric
propulsion system. The
previous top speed for
electric motorcycles was in
the 270 kph range.
The
SWIGZ.COM
Pro
Racing Electric motorcycle
was designed and ridden
by extreme electric vehicle
designer and professional
motorcycle
racer
Chip
Yates.
"This run should go a long
way towards our goal of
demonstrating that electric
vehicles can lay down
extreme performance and
compete directly against
gasoline powered vehicles
if properly designed and
executed," said Yates.
The Pro Racing team are
now
adapting
the
superbike's UQM electric
powertrain to optimize
its performance for the
Pikes Peak Hill Climb,
which will take place on
June 26. The team has
already made news in
this
competition
by
entering
the
most
powerful
electric
motorcycle ever at 240
horsepower.
At 266Kg the SWIGZ is
too heavy for the Isle of
Mann TTXGP’s new rules
so it’s going to compete
in the WERA series in
America
against
the
likes of Ducati 1198 and
KTM RC8R superbikes.
The SWIGZ.COM Pro
Racing
bike
made
history in January, by
racing
against
conventional
petrolpowered race bikes at
the Auto Club Speedway
in California.
Not so much a future potential but almost - almost! a common reality. Over the
Easter break Peter (Reeves) arrived with a Paul & Sabrina Open Source (Cougar)
controller kit (144volt - 500Amp). Never one to say no to an interesting electronics
project I spent about a dozen hours over the following week putting it together. The
kit contents are beautifully prepared; the circuit boards are high quality and the
electronic parts come in individual bags with identification numbers printed on the
label. All that is required for assembly is to locate the ID number on the circuit
board, find the corresponding component bag extract the contents and solder in the
part. Easy! Having said that; – the construction of the Power Board (with all the
MOSFETS and CAPACITORS) is a bit harder. Placing the parts is simple but you
need some specialized soldering equipment to be able to heat the board to a suitable
level for the solder to properly “wet” the metal; As Paul says on the web site
“Know your Limits”.
The downloaded instructions (68pages) and online videos help in the construction
phase. All up 8 out of 10; if you have the right gear. I’ll be finalising the project
this weekend; checking operation on 12 volt, 36 volt and finally 72 volt systems. If
all is well it will end up in Peter’s Ute on the 14th. I’ll keep you posted!! KL
This Month’s Q&A Technology Tip
Q: My Batteries are located in some difficult to reach locations, is there a
BMS show the state of hidden batteries?
A: Ewert energy systems has produced the Orion
BMS – a very sophisticated centralised BMS unit
that can handle standard charge/balance functions as
well as monitor cell and pack internal resistance, for
potential cell failure. Check for isolation faults and show the status of all cells
via the computer software supplied.
www.orionbms.com